ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> <head> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.squidge.org/werewindle/new.css" type="text/css" /> <!--[if IE 6]> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.squidge.org/werewindle/fix.css" type="text/css" /> <![endif]--> <title>Xan's Trip to the Underworld by Werewindle</title> </header> <body> <div id="content"> <h1>Xan's Trip to the Underworld</h1> <div align="center"><a href="mailto:werewindle_2@hotmail.com">by Werewindle</a></div> <p> <img src="http://www.squidge.org/werewindle/images/fallforsx.jpg"> <p>&nbsp;<p> Hades had just drifted off letting the drone of souls being sorted wash over him when he was rather suddenly awakened. <p>  Excuse me Your Majesty, er- Lord Hades... Sir. The young mortal shifted from foot to foot nervously. <p> Hades blinked, there was something odd about the man but he couldn t quite place what.  Yes? Why do you disturb me? The King of the Underworld s voice was stern. <p>  Well, you see my friend was sent here and... I dreallyliketohavehimback. The brunet said in a rush. <p>  You. Want. Him. Back? The mortal nodded.  You re not dead then? <p>  Um, no? The young man glanced down at himself as if to make sure. <p>  How then, did you get here? Hades wavered between astonishment and anger. <p>  I read in a book about there being an entrance under this lake so I packed up and came. The man shrugged his shoulders.  A re-breather spell on a short-dive tank... The dive itself wasn t that far. <p> Hades pinched the bridge of his nose. Stupid mortals and their NEED to share knowledge.  And HOW did you get past Cerberus and Charon? <p>  Oh, well I gave Cerberus a Buggle Bear- <p>  A what!? <p>  Um. A canvas bear stuffed with Buggle Snuff... It s like catnip for dogs. He bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. <p> Hades could feel the nerve under his left eye twitch.  You gave The Guardian of the Gates to the Underworld - mystic catnip? <p>  Yes? <p>  THANATOS! Hades bellowed. A moment later his right hand god appeared in a subdued flash of black smoke.  Go check Cerberus. He s been drugged. Lock the gates if you have to - chain him INSIDE. And for Gaia s sake BANISH the damned catnip toy. Thanatos merely raised an eyebrow at the brunet mortal and nodded once in understanding to Hades before flashing out again. <p>  Now Mortal, explain how you convinced Charon to ferry you across the Styx. <p>  That was a little trickier. He wouldn t take my money so I traded him a book and a bottle of Starry Nites nail-polish. He said he was bored Xander elaborated at Hades incredulous look. <p>  So you drug my dog, bribe my ferryman and now you expect me to just give you your friend back? W- <p>  No. I figured you d have some kind of test or maze or something. <p> Hades sighed his rant interrupted. Once you were off your stride it was hard to get a good rant going again.  Fine then. Who is your friend? <p>  Spike - William the Bloody. I m not sure what his name was before he got turned... Xander trailed off at the wicked smirk now on Hades face. <p>  Oh, I know just who you re talking about. His smirk widened.  Bacchus has already called in a favor to have him resurrected. Hades snapped his fingers and a black velvet pouch materialized in his hand.  He was supposed to go to that insufferable Angel - something about needing a bit more torment in his life. You know Angel I presume. What is you name mortal? <p>  Xander and I know Angel. <p>  You get along well? <p>  Not really, we get on each other s nerves quite a bit. <p>  Good. Xander gulped at the maniacal drawl.  If I return Spike to you instead this is my price: You will both for the length of one year reside with, work with, and generally spend as much time as you can possibly stand with Angel. <p>  That s it? Xander s eyes were wide. <p>  That s it. Hades tossed Xander the bag.  Oh, and give Angel my regards. Hades called out as the mortal disappeared. <p> ~*~*~<br> Halfway across the world in a Los Angeles high rise building - in a well appointed office.<br> ~*~*~<br> <p> *thunk* <p>  Xander?! <p><br> <h3>-END-</h3> <p> <hr> <p> <span class="notes">For <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/fall_for_sx/">fall_for_sx 2006</a></span> <p> <div align="center"> <a href="http://www.squidge.org/werewindle/main.html">.:Back to the Den:.</a> </div> <p>&nbsp;<p> <div align="center" class="box"> To receive email for new and updated fiction:<br> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/twin_swords/join"> <img src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/yg/img/i/us/ui/join.gif" border="0" alt="Click here to join twin_swords"><br>Click to join twin_swords</a> </div> <p> </div> </body> </html>